Portsmouth take on Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday night in a high-pressure League One affair.
But the third tier of English football is a far cry from when the duo were regularly playing, and mostly over-achieving, in the Premier League. The 2000s saw the pair spend seven seasons competing alongside each other at the top table in what were halcyon days for both clubs.
Each qualified for European football, whilst Pompey famously won the FA Cup in 2008, four years after Bolton had reached the League Cup final. But both have suffered sharp declines in the ensuing years. Portsmouth exited the top flight in 2010, Bolton followed two years later. Those drops were just two of seven combined relegations that saw both teams eventually plummet to League Two.
